Making heads spin

Have you ever tried to spin a basketball on your finger? What about spinning a basketball on a basketball on your finger? As outrageous as that may seem, it’s elementary for Ms. Tanya Crevier.
In late January, Crevier arrived for the second straight year to entertain, motivate, and teach the students of WS basketball and life skills.
Coming from a big family in Jefferson, South Dakota, Crevier learned the life principles and basketball skills that would sculpt her future career and her now world renowned Spintacular Basketball Show. Learning the skills of spinning a basketball from her older brothers and their friends, Crevier was inspired to build on this talent and constantly practice to improve upon her talents.
“I kept practicing and learning all of the tricks that my brothers, Maurice and Marc kept telling me about. So, as I practiced, the drills that I continued to do helped me at every level,” said Crevier, “God has been so good to me, He has opened up every door along the way.”

Crevier put the skills that she learned from her brothers into practice, performing at the high school, College (South Dakota State University), and even pro level. This lead to coaches asking her to come and share her skills with their players, and eventually to the point where she was travelling with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to perform at college, NBA, and WNBA games.
Her performance at the FCA club and JV boys’ basketball game astounded the students in attendance.
“It’s cool that her show appeals to boys and girls. She does a good job of interacting with the audience,” said sophomore Abby Tobias.
Crevier has also built up a relationship with Coach Gibson, the girls’ varsity basketball coach at WS. Since then she has assisted Gibson with ball handling drills and motivating his players whenever she was in town.
As impressive as her basketball show is, the lessons Crevier imparts to her audience is what she believes is the most important part of the entire performance.
“[I would encourage people to] set goals (mentally, physically, and spiritually), choose to keep a positive attitude… keep your morals high… and strive for excellence,” said Crevier.
Her message was well received by the students who heard it, as she describes excellence as the exceptional quality to exceed expectations. She expresses the important traits of perseverance, faith, and working to do whatever you do to the greatest of your abilities.
“I thought it was awesome seeing somebody use basketball skills to spread her message in the entertaining way like she did. She’s a very humble person and showed the importance of hard work and dedication,” said junior Tommy Howe.